Arsenal are reportedly in talks with the agents of Christian Kofane but may have to fend off competition from Newcastle to sign the Bayer Leverkusen forward.
Kofane enjoyed an eye-catching debut season in the Bundesliga last term after joining Leverkusen in a €5.25million (£4.5m) deal with Albacete, racking up seven goals and four assists in his opening 29 appearances.
The 19-year-old also made a significant impact in the Champions League, perhaps most notably in Leverkusen’s last-16 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in March.
Since then, Kofane’s future has been the subject of intense speculation and the striker’s inner circle have done little to rumours of a possible big-money summer move, with his agent Eric Depolo telling Daily Arsenal: ‘The manager [Mikel Arteta] likes him very much.’
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Asked which other clubs had expressed an interest in Kofane, Depolo replied: ‘Chelsea, Newcastle, Everton, Brentford, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.’
Depolo also suggested the presence of both Arteta and William Saliba in north London put Arsenal in ‘pole position’ to strike a deal for the highly rated teenager.
‘I think it is too early to say [which club is leading the race],’ he added.
‘But due to the fact that the player speaks Spanish, like Mikel Arteta, and that William Saliba is originally from Cameroon, I would say Arsenal are in pole position.
‘There is contact between me and Arsenal. But their focus right now is to win the league – from there everything will start moving.’
According to German publication Bild, the Gunners have had Kofane ‘on their radar’ ever since the striker’s cameo display in their Champions League last-16 victory and remain in ‘close contact’ with the player’s agents.
However, it’s claimed Newcastle have joined the race for Kofane and could turn their attentions to closing an agreement for the Cameroon international having wrapped up the signing of Hoffenheim winger Bazoumana Toure.
The Magpies’ failure to secure Champions League football next season could negatively impact their hopes of landing Kofane, though, and Arsenal will be confident of beating their Premier League rivals to a deal.
While Leverkusen are reluctant to lose Kofane after only one year, the report states that a bid in the region of €100m (£86m) could be enough to tempt the Bundesliga outfit into selling the youngster.
Kofane’s current deal, which he signed upon arrival at Leverkusen, runs through to the summer of 2029.
Leverkusen chiefs Simon Rolfes and Kim Falkenberg are said to be relaxed about the growing interest in Kofane and are believed to be in regular communication with the attacker’s camp.
In his interview with Daily Arsenal, Kofane’s representative Depolo reassured Arsenal that they would be getting a ‘complete’ striker for the next decade should they get a deal over the line.
‘He is a €100m player. With Kofane, Arsenal would have a top striker for the next ten years,’ he explained.
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‘I have never had as many calls in my life as now regarding Kofane. Right now, he is the best Under-21 striker in Europe and the most complete one.
‘He has speed, technique, defends very well and is strong in the air. It is very difficult to find all these attributes in one striker.’
Before his sacking at Leverkusen, former head coach Kasper Hjulmand tipped Kofane to go on and have a ‘great future’.
‘For me, it’s impressive enough that Kofi came to Europe at the end of 2024 and moved here in the summer of 2025 – and how he has developed since then,’ he said.
‘The way he works, how he adapts and learns… I criticised him a bit in training a few weeks ago and then the next day he came to me and said, “Please, keep it up. I want more criticism, I want to learn,” and that’s why he’s making these strides.
‘I always tell players, “Stay true to yourself in this crazy world, sometimes you might lose touch with reality”, but if you stay true to yourself, everything will be alright.’
‘He has a great future.
‘I know Christian will stay on this path, with this personality – and then he will certainly develop even further.’
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